Apparatus for drying brick and other clay articles



Sept. 25 1923.`

J. c. BOSS APPARATUS FOR DRYING 'BRICK AND OTHER CLAY ARTICLES Fiied Dec. s. 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet l gmmffo@ .000000000000510Oooooooooo Sept. 25', i923. g

J. C. BOSS APPARATUS FOR DRYING4 BRICK AND OTHER CLAY ARTICLS Filed Dec. 1921 s sheets-sheet 2 N N o Y 0 rm/ *Rm e N is A Jaim C. 055

Elkton/w11 I Sept. `25 i923. A

J. C. BOSS l APPARATUS Foa DRYING'BRICK AND OTHER CLAY ARTICLES Filed Dec. 5. 1921 Z5 SheebS-Shee'l'l 3 gru/vento@ John, C. oes

Patented Sept. 25, 1923.

UNI-TED STATES JOHN C. BOSS, OF IELKHAL't'l,INDIANA.l

ArrAnA'rUs Forv DRYING Baron Am) OTHER CLAY ARTICLES.

Application led December 3, 1921: Serial No. $519,628'.

To all whom it ma/y concern. y

Be it known that I, JOHN C. Boss, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Elkhart, in the county of Elkhart and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and l. useful Improvements in Apparatus for Drying Brick and Other. Clay Articles, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relatesto improvements in apparatus for drying clay products and is designed more especially 'for clay articles being shown herein as embodied in apparatus designed more especially for drying brick.

The invention aims to provide an apparatus by which such articles may be 'uniformly and thoroughly dried in large quantities in a very short period of time and at a great saving in cost.

With these and other objects in view the invention, includes the novel .features of construction and arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter-described and particularly defined by 'the appended claims.

An embodiment of my invention is illustratcd in the accompanying drawings in `Which- Figure 1 is a plan view with parts broken away, showing my invention as embodied in a four tunnel brick drying plant.

Fig.2 is a detail view broken away to show the tunnel fioor.

Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section on line 3 3 ofFig. 1 on a larger scale.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal vertical section on line. 4 4 of Fig. 1.

Referring by reference characters tothese drawings, my improved apparatus com` prises a drying building or structure of suitable material embodying roofed parallel exterior walls 2', and intervening walls 2 providing a plurality of drying tunnels or chambers designated 3, four of which are shown as a convenient number, although it will be understood that any number of tunnels .desired may be used, corresponding to the desired capacity of the plant.

The walls of the tunnels are preferably constructed .of brick or likematerial and they are 'closed at the top as by the roof 1,

extending the entire length of the tunnels.

Above this is a second and parallel roof 1 l providing anintervening space which is divided by partitions 1b to form a plurality of flues 1". one located centrally over each tunnel with which it communicates by air passage openings a beneath which are preferably located baffle plates a. The tunnels are made of sufficient length (sayv 100 feet) to receive an adequate number of cars loaded with brick or other clay articles.

These cars which are designated 5, may be of, the ordinary or any desired construction, and are designed to be run into and through vthe tunnels upon tracks '6 provided for this purpose. The tunnels are provided at opposite ends with closures or doors 7 which are designed to be opened to admit the cars and closed to confine the L,heated air to the tunnels during the drying opera-tion.

'.Ihe bricks or other articles to be dried are piled upon the platforms in spaced arrangemfent, as shown, so as'to permit'the drying air to pass freely between and around the same, the platforms themselves having openings to permit the passage therethrough. y

In using tunnels for drying clay articles, such las brick for example, I have found that if the tunnels are made long enough to give ing it uniformly from) all portions of the spaces beneath the cars by suction.

The necessary heated air supplymay be secured from the waste heat of the kilns conducted through a waste heat flue 9, which communicates fan Vchamber 9a and flue 9b with chamber or flue 9 located'"preferably over approximatelyv the longitudinal center of the tunnels and having its open bottom in communication with the flues 1". An air forcing device, such as/a fan of any suitable` design, is located in a convenient position, as in fan chamber indicated at 9a, and serves to supply the air under the requisite pressure to force it to.all parts of the supply flues 1X. i

Located transversely beneath the turinels, and preferably adjacent to the fan casing 9a is an exhaust flue 10 in which suction is produced by suitable means, such as a suction fan, indicated conventionally at 11.

Beneath the tunnels are located air supply mains or underground conduits 13, preferably one centrally beneath each tunnel, which run the entire length of the tunnels, being closed at their outer ends and connected at their inner ends to the common main air exhaust duct or flue 10. y

The lues are preferably of tapered form, as shown in Fig. 3, and are provided with openings 13a at suitable intervals communicatingwith the interior of the tunnels,fbe neath which openings are provided baiiie plates 13".

By this arrangement it will be seen that the hea-ted or drying air is introduced centrally into the supply conduits under pressure and is thence forced in opposite directions into'the flues 1*, from which it passes at equidistantly spaced points into the l tunnels throughout the entire length thereof. It is thusl caused to flow over the tops of the bricks or other articles so as to be distributed evenly over the entire surface of the-'loads on each car.

The suction fines through the passages 13a serve to remove the moisture laden air and insure the passage of the air through the brick from the top downwardly through the platform openings without having any travel of the air longitudinally through the tunnelsf ln carrying out my invention, I prefer to use trucks or truck platforms which are adapted to abut each other, end to end, and it Will be readily seen that the air, brought into the conduits under pressure,is supplied to the tops of the tunnels at equidistant points throughout the entire lengthsthere- As the only' escape for the air is by Way of the outlets between the rails and the only way of reaching these outlets is through the spaces between the articles, and openings in'the car platforms; and as the space beneath the cars is under strong suction, said articles are quickly and thoroughly dried by reason of the heated air under pressure passing downwardlyk around and between all the articles of each car or truck platform which is subjected continuously .to individual currents of fresh drying air, the moisture laden air being withdrawn under strong suction applied at equidistantly spaced points throughout the length'of each tunnel.

' Whilell have shown in the drawings the neeaeeo air supply and exhaust conduits as connected vwith the tunnel fiues approximately .midway of the length of the tunnels,I it will be under- "stood that this is my preferred embodiment for exhausting the air from the bottom of the tunnel.

2. Apparatus for drying brick compris- .ing a closed tunnel having means forv permitting loaded cars to be passed thereinto,l

a blower having connections for introducing -air under pressure into the upper portion of said tunnel at a plurality of points throughoutthe entire length of the tunnel and a suction fan for exhausting-the air from the Vbottom of said tunnel atva, plurality of points( i 3. Apparatus for drying brick and other clay products comprising a closed tunnel having means for permitting loaded cars to be passed thereinto, air conduits above and below said tunnel, and communicating there'- with, a blower for supplying air under pressure to the uppercondult .and a suction fan for exhausting air from the lower conduit.

4. Apparatus for drying brick and other clay products, comprising a closed tunnel having means for admitting loaded cars thereto, an air conduit communicating with the top of thetunnel, a`n air conduit communicating with the bottom of the tunnel, a blower Afor forcing air into one of said conduits, and a suction fan arranged to withdraw air from the other conduit.

5. Apparatusfor drying brick and other clay products comprisinga series of closed tunnels Aarranged side by side and having means for admitting loaded cars thereto, conduits above and beneath said tunnels, and communicating therewith, a transverse Hue located above the upper conduits and communicating therewith, a' blower for supplying heated air under pressure to said transverse Hue, a second transverse iue beneath the tunnels communicating with all of said lower conduits, and a suction fan for xhausting air from said second, transverse ln testimony whereof, I aiix m siv ature.

JOHN GSS. 

